Moot court of Plessy v. Ferguson

In todays moot court we heard the case of Plessy V. Ferguson. This case is over a man named Plessy who was removed from the whites only railcar on a train. This came to be through an act made in 1890 by the Louisiana State Legislature. They said that railcars had to be separate but equal. The problem with Plessy was that he was 7/8 white and 1/8 black with very fair skin. The Ruling went all the way to the Supreme Court in which they made the final ruling that separate but equal was ok in all aspects.

Those who spoke against the Supreme Court ruling made points that Plessy was allowed to sit in the whites only car. One of these points is that Plessy purchased and was handed the ticket allowing him to sit in the whites only car. This was done because he is 7/8 white which gives him very fair skin. Another point is that him being moved to the blacks car goes against his 14th amendment rights. The 14th amendment says that since he was born in the U.S. he has all the rights and protections of a full citizen, and this violated the equal protection clause.

Those who spoke for the Supreme Court ruling made points that Plessy should have been moved to the blacks car. They made points that his rights were not abridged because he was only asked o move to a different car and not kicked off of the train. They said this is because the public accommodation for blacks and whites was equal so that his equal protection rights was not violated. They also stated that he was knowingly breaking the law, because he knew he was 1/8 black.